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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Equestrian & animal sports > Horse racing
On May 4, 1968, Dancer's Image crossed the finish line at Churchill
Downs to win the 94th Kentucky Derby. Yet the jubilation ended
three days later for the owner, the jockey and the trainers who
propelled the celebrated thoroughbred to victory. Amid a firestorm
of controversy, Dancer's Image was disqualified after blood tests
revealed the presence of a widely used anti-inflammatory drug with
a dubious legal status. Over forty years later, questions still
linger over the origins of the substance and the turmoil it
created. Veteran turfwriter and noted equine law expert Milt Toby
gives the first in-depth look at the only disqualification in Derby
history and how the Run for the Roses was changed forever.
In the late eighteenth century, in the bustling city streets of
Louisville, began a tradition of thoroughbred racing that has
transcended centuries. Follow Kimberly Gatto as she chronicles the
history of the world's most famous racing venue, which
revolutionized the "Sport of Kings" and created the Kentucky Derby,
Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap races. Fans will enjoy the tales
of various horses, from the early triumph of Ten Broeck over Mollie
McCarthy to the Derby victory of the heroic Barbaro. Churchill
Downs: America's Most Historic Racetrack recounts how various
financial hardships, the introduction of parimutuel wagering, the
construction of the famed twin spires and the age of television
transformed Churchill Downs into the majestic track we recognize
today.
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